Invisible Snowden: A polarizing tale of transparency_BINARY_1076031

Tuesday

Jun 25, 2013 at 9:35 AM

"At a time when popular revolutions are sweeping the globe, the United States should be strengthening, not weakening, basic rules of law and principles of justice enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Sheila Lennon

"At a time when popular revolutions are sweeping the globe, the United States should be strengthening, not weakening, basic rules of law and principles of justice enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

The author is the 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, writing Monday in the New York Times, A Cruel and Unusual Record.

Detour

System administrator and 30-year-old leaker of the scope of government surveillance Edward Snowden is seeking a safe and wired place. A mob of journalists seeking him at Moscow airport Monday bought $2,000 round-trip tickets for a 12-hour flight from Moscow to Havana on which Snowden was allegedly booked. When Snowden didn't show, it became apparent they had hijacked themselves to Havana Monday. (AFP: Snowden hoodwinks world on Cuba magical mystery tour)

Snowden's empty seat, 17A, had its own Twitter feed.

The postmodern Miriam Elder, "Moscow correspondent for The Guardian; Moving to BuzzFeed as Foreign Editor in July" according to her Twitter profile, had visa issues; she bought a ticket but couldn't fly the miles.

The flight she missed was alcohol-free. We expect sidebars from the scribes and shooters who are on this flight, this parallel universe of the hunt for the Invisible Snowden. Wags predict:

Journos on %23Snowden flight just touching down in Havana - where they&%2339;ll be following up leads he&%2339;s hiding in lobster bars & strip clubs

%97 Joe O&%2339;Shea (@josefoshea) June 24, 2013

Information wants to be free

While wags fiddle, Carter brings the moral authority of a former president to the current state of the government whose executive branch he once led.

It's a polarizing story -- Secretary of State John Kerry, who championed Daniel Ellsberg's release of the Pentagon Papers, says former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden "betrayed his country" -- by letting terrorists know the U.S. might be reading their emails. Similarly, Kerry seemed not to know that Snowden hadn't entered Russia although the mob of journalists at the airport seemed to know that without a visa he hadn't left the limbo reserved for those in transit.

Correct me if I&%2339;m wrong, but Russian transit visa lasts for 3 days so Snowden would have to leave by 14:30 local time tomorrow?

%97 Miriam Elder (@MiriamElder) June 25, 2013

Dr. Ellsberg's book, "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers," has become a bestseller. In a quote on the back cover, Senator John F. Kerry wrote, "Daniel Ellsberg demonstrated enormous courage during a difficult and turbulent time in America's history, courage which undoubtedly saved American lives on the battlefield and helped to hold politicians accountable for mistakes they refused to admit. His story reminds us that to fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship is to always ask questions and demand the truth."

Kerry's come a long way since giving the fledgling Vietnam Veterans Against the War a Brahmin legitimacy in my youth. Now, he has his dream job, Secretary of State, and is upholding the establishment his younger self protested.

Ellsberg told the Daily Beast that "I think there has not been a more significant or helpful leak or unauthorized disclosure in American history ever ... and that definitely includes the Pentagon Papers."

The polarization seems to be traitor or patriot. Demonizing Edward Snowden: Which Side Are You On?, writes longtime New Yorker staffer John Cassidy:

"I'm with Snowden--not only for the reasons that Drake enumerated but also because of an old-fashioned and maybe na´ve inkling that journalists are meant to stick up for the underdog and irritate the powerful. On its side, the Obama Administration has the courts, the intelligence services, Congress, the diplomatic service, much of the media, and most of the American public. Snowden's got Greenwald, a woman from Wikileaks, and a dodgy travel document from Ecuador. Which side are you on?"

Pragmatists chime in:

Whether you revile Edward Snowden or idolize him, he needs a good lawyer http://t.co/Wg3luFcYix

%97 Forbes (@Forbes) June 24, 2013

It's not over. I like the transparency. We need to know. Jimmy Carter's talking revolution.